The air was thick with tension.Melinda paced the dark room, her eyes flicking to the shadows where Freya’s ex-mates stood. Their faces were hard, unreadable, but they were nothing compared to the storm raging in her chest. She felt it again, the envy clawing at her insides. She had always been ambitious, always wanted more, but now, watching Freya’s life unfold, it was different. Freya had everything. The love of three Lycan kings. Respect. Strength. A future.And Melinda had... nothing.She had been given the role of Luna only by Luna Laura’s choice. But deep down, she knew she was nothing more than a placeholder, a backup. She wanted more. She wanted to be more.And she would do whatever it took to get it.The door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside, casting a long shadow on the floor. Her brother was dragged into the room by the rogue king’s guards. He was beaten, bruised, and shackled, his body barely holding together.Melinda froze.“Let him go!” she snapped, rushing towa
The arena loomed like a beast of stone.Cold. Ancient. Built into the cliffs behind the palace, it had once been the site of war games and executions… Now, it would become the stage for Freya’s survival.The Trial of Blood hadn’t been performed in nearly a century.Few passed it, but couldn’t survive its severity and lost their lives after coming back to their mates. And none had ever done so while carrying the blood of two species.Freya stood at the center of the ring, her children watching from the royal box above, their small faces pale. Brenda stood with them, hands gripping their shoulders. The Lycan princes were absent from the stands, forced to remain neutral during the trial. A rule set by the Council to prevent “influence.”But Freya didn’t need them beside her.Not today.She had a blade in her hand.And every scar she’d earned.The crowd roared as the High Elder stood and lifted his cane.“Freya Simon, hybrid of wolf and vampire, fated mate of the Lycan princes… You are h
The journey back to the Royal Redclaw Pack should have been a celebration.Instead, it was quiet.Freya sat between Kandrix and Jasper in the backseat, her children safe in their father’s embrace, pressed close to their bodies. Louis was behind the wheel while Brenda was present in the passenger seat, eyes scanning the horizon as if expecting another ambush.They arrived at dusk.The guards opened the gates without question until their gazes landed on her… Their Luna. And lingered too long.Melinda stood on the palace steps, draped in silver and white, the Luna crown gleaming atop her head like a mockery. Her smile was all sugar and venom.Behind her, Luna Laura stood tall, regal and cold. King Edward remained silent, his gaze flickering only once to Freya, then away, as if she were nothing more than dust on his robes.Freya didn’t flinch.Not when the whispers began.Not when the pack wolves gathered around, their stares heavy with judgment. She could smell it on them—disdain. Suspi
Freya had always thought her strength came from her wolf.The snarl that rose in her throat during a fight. The loyalty, the instinct. The pack.But now, with silver shackles burning into her skin and her children crying in the next room, it wasn’t the wolf that stirred.It was something else.Older. Colder. More powerful.Her vampire blood had always been a whisper in her veins. Quiet. Dormant. Until now.Now, it screamed.She didn’t know what triggered it, maybe the vision of her mates in the bowl, maybe the ever-tightening fear for her children, but she felt the shift.The shadows no longer curled away from her.They moved with her.Morwenna had left the cell minutes ago, convinced her spell still held. But Freya’s fingertips crackled with black mist as she slowly pulled against the chains again. A groan left her lips when she tried to move her bruised and sore body. A metallic snap echoed through the stone.The cuff broke.She gasped, staring at her wrist, raw, bleeding, but fre
(Unknown POV)Freya didn’t dare to dream anymore. There was only the cold, the stone, and the quiet hum of my children’s muffled cries beyond the iron bars.Freya had lost count of the days. Maybe weeks. Her body was sore, her wrists rubbed raw from the silver cuffs that chained her to the wall like an animal on the altar. The air reeked of damp magic and burnt herbs — spells cast in blood and bone by the witch who called herself Morwenna.Her sister was nothing like Brenda. Brenda helped Freya a few days ago and treated her with such respect. Still, seeing Morwenna, she understood the fact that siblings didn’t always share good traits just like the witch in front of her was not even a bit similar to witch Brenda, who was ready to help her without any rewards in return. Where Brenda’s presence had been grounding, like earth after rain, Morwenna’s magic was suffocating. It slithered through the air, coiling around Freya’s body like a python waiting to crush the last flicker of re
(Kandrix POV)“Alpha! A few rogues attacked our east side. They broke the defense line and killed one of our warriors and injured four of our warriors,” I received this mind-link from Mark Robinson, our second beta’s son, informed me. I looked at the sleeping face of my mate and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Louis and Jasper weren’t present at the pack house tonight because they had to visit another pack, so I was alone in the pack house. I didn’t want to leave my Freya and my children at this hour of the night, but duty calls. So, I reluctantly left them and headed towards the pack borders. I want to inform Emerald about it, but Jasper instructed me to keep her away from beta’s duties for a while, so I didn’t inform her. Even though he didn’t share the reason right now but I didn’t force him to. I quickly headed to the west side, and there was a group of ten rogues. I quickly changed to my Lycan form and attacked them. Jasper and Lois also came, and I looked towards them.